SANTA ANA – DeColores Queer Orange County, an organization that works to empower Latinos in the LGBT community, is hosting a tribute to the late singer Selena Quintanilla, commemorating the 20th anniversary of her death.

The Tuesday tribute, “Anything for Salinas,” will be held at The Frida Cinema and will feature a screening of the movie “Selena,” drag performances and a Selena-inspired costume contest.

Selena, like Tejano music, represented a transition between Mexican and American cultural traditions. At the time of her death, her records were just starting to achieve crossover success on non-Latino radio formats.

For many in the Latino community, Selena’s death was comparable to John Lennon’s slaying.

Javier Saucedo, of DeColores Queer, said Selena represented the experience of Latinos in the U.S.

“It’s cool to see someone who made such an impact,” he said. “Especially, us here, being this is second generation or third generation, just like Selena was having trouble with Spanish.”

Saucedo said the LGBT community embraces Selena because her music is “ambiguous.”

For example, her song “Amor Prohibido” (Prohibited Love) can be interpreted as a love that is forbidden to due to a person’s sexuality, race or class.

Had she still been alive, Saucedo said Selena would have been a gay icon like singers Gloria Trevi or Paulina Rubio.

“She (Selena) pretty much embraced all of her fans,” Saucedo said.

General admission for the event is $15.

Event proceeds will go toward Gay Straight Alliance high school clubs and toward the Zoraida Reyes scholarship fund. Reyes was a Santa Ana transgender woman who was killed in 2014.

Alejandra Molina writes about immigration, race, and religion for the Southern California News Group. In her decade-long career, she has reported how gentrification has affected downtown Santa Ana, how racism contributes the high black infant death rate, and how President Donald Trump is impacting undocumented communities across Southern California.